Until The Day I Die
by animeloveramy
Summary: 'When he was king, the law against magic would no longer exist. He regarded it as a sword; to use as the wielder saw fit. He knew this, and it was the code he would live by. Until the day he died.' not slash


'_**How small you are, for such a great destiny.'**_

**The Great Dragon**

**oxo…oxo**

Merlin had magic.

It had been so obvious he had nearly cried. He didn't of course, but he could have, if he'd wanted.

His manservant thought he was oblivious. Thought he didn't know about the fact that he had seen that rope move and trip him in their fight the day after they had first met. He had been curious. Curious that someone who had come to Camelot where magic was forbidden and stood up for the right of a servant against the prince had the thing that was most despised here.

Why? Even Merlin wasn't that stupid, was he? To come to the heart of the city where he could be murdered just for being? Suicide, he had thought.

So he had allowed him to leave, not even punished him for it. He wanted to see how this planned out.

His father wouldn't approve, but there was something about Merlin he just trusted. Something special that caused him to want to protect the boy. So protect him he did. Out of curiosity, of course.

When Merlin saved his life for the first time he knew he had made the right decision. He didn't know what Merlin had done but there was no way he would have been able to get over to him in time without having done some kind of magic. When the boy was proclaimed him manservant he pretended to be annoyed by it, but in all honesty, he was glad. This meant that he could keep a closer eye on him; try to figure him out.

He never figured him out.

But they did get closer. Close enough that he would class Merlin his only friend, though he never said it out loud. He trusted Merlin with his life, and did his best to help Merlin keep his; even if the warlock didn't realise he was doing it. There were several instances where he saw the servant use his magic, most often to save the prince's sorry behind. He pretended not to look though, pretend he didn't see the man's deep blue eyes glitter gold out the corner of his eye. Pretend that he didn't realise that warlocks help. He berated him cruelly, but it was the only way he could think of to protect the warlock and his secret.

_I could take you apart with one blow, _

_I could take you apart with less than that,_

It was only afterwards that he had realised how much truth had been in those words. If Merlin had wanted he could very easily have killed the prince. But he did not, and Arthur respected him greatly for it. Merlin was a great friend, never failing to put him in his place with his words if he felt it was needed.

He knew he would never forgive himself if Merlin died. The few times he came close scared the prince, and the times he was accused of magic or tried to help others by accusing himself of magic, he did his best to help the man. He pretended magic was evil, for his father's sake and Merlin's, but he always felt so guilty when he looked into Merlin's saddened face at the words.

As the years went on, his trust and faith in the warlock became stronger. So did his hurt. As the years went by without Merlin confiding in him about his magic, he began to feel that the warlock didn't trust him. He understood Merlin's uncertainty, he hadn't shown his change in perspective towards magic, but the hurt was still there. He never let it show, knowing the boy would tell him when he was ready.

And when that time came he would be there for him. To comfort him and help him ease the hurt he could see in his eyes. He knew the warlock had been through a great deal, even if he didn't always realise what it was, and whenever he saw the pain in his friends eyes, a new wave of guilt would wash over him. He wanted to end the lies, but he could not. Not until Merlin told him would he admit that he knew.

He had his resolve though. When he was king, the law against magic would no longer exist. He had seen both the good and the evil side to magic, and regarded it as a sword; to use as the wielder saw fit. Some would use it well, like Merlin, and others would use it for evil, like Morgose. He knew this, and it was the code he would live by.

Until the day he died.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear reader,**

**This isn't hugely brilliant, I know, but I've always liked the stories where Arthur already knows about Merlin and his magic. I'm thinking, though, that I could use this as a prologue of kind and actually re write the series with Arthur knowing. Then again, I might start a new story in the same kind of way but have Arthur tell Merlin he knows at some point…perhaps when Merlin drinks the poison and Arthur doesn't realise Merlin can hear him…  
><strong>**So, anyways, I hope you like this and feel fit to review…I would like to hear what people think of an idea like this. **

**Animeloveramy**

**Ok, gotta say I got the wrong idea looking at the title but actually that was quite sweet in a kinda bittersweet always gonna be floating in the air between them kinda way...**

**AnimeAiedail**


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